And So I Watch You From Afar

And So I Watch You from Afar are an instrumental post/math rock band based in Belfast. Formed in late 2005 in rural County Derry, guitarists Rory Friers, Tony Wright (aka Face Eater) and Chris Wee (previously of Zombie Safari Park) recruited bassist Johnny Adger (aka Gut Slurper), who had played in another band, Pepperbook, with Wright. Together, they moved to Belfast and quickly built up a live following in the city.

In October of 2007, they teamed up with three other Belfast rock bands -- Driving by Night, LaFaro, and Cruz, as well as Fighting With Wire frontman Cahir O'Doherty -- to produce the EP Tonight the City Burns, a communal project that launched with a gig in Belfast featuring each of the bands. In late 2007, And So I Watch You from more... Afar convened to the studio with producer Bo Sheppard to record their first split single, "I Capture Castles" backed with "The Voiceless." They wound up writing three additional songs and producing their first stand-alone EP, entitled This Is Our Machine and Nothing Can Stop It, which they released themselves in April.

The EP was re-released in March of 2008 via Forte Music Distribution. The EP sold out its stock within six weeks and allowed the band to embark upon tours to the U.K. (with Maybeshewill and This Town Needs Guns) and Ireland (with Adebisi Shank). In April 2008, they began the recording process for their first full-length album, which was completed in July. They signed with Derry/London-based D.I.Y. label Smalltown America for the release. In early April of 2009, And So I Watch You from Afar released the split single "A Little Solidarity Goes a Long Way" backed with "Set Your Guitars to Kill" and, a week later, their debut album, named And So I Watch You from Afar.